Oil-well packer



, Ll E. ROBINSON, DECD.

v E. A. ROBINSON| ADMINISTRATRIX.

oiL WELL PAcKEH.

APPLICATION FILED A UG- 8. 192i-l Patented Oct. 10, 1922.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

LI E. ROBINSON, nEcn.

E. A. ROBINSON, ADMINSTRATRIX.

0|L WELL PACKER.

APPLlcAloN FILED AuG.s. 1921.

1,431,426.- Patented Oct. 10, 1922.

L 4 SHEETS-SHEET 4. .l NIMH] il "IPL Patented Oct. 10, 1922.

UNITED STATES PATEN-r OFFICE.

LAWRENCE E. ROBINSON, ECEASED, BY EDITH A. ROBINSON, ADMINISTRATRIX, `Oli? COFFEYVILLE, KANSAS.

OIL-WELL PACKER.

Application filed August 8, 1921. Serial No. 490,443.

To all whom t may concern Beit known that I, EDITH A. ROBINSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Coffeyville, `Montgomery County, Kansas,` declare that LAWRENCE E. ROBINSON, deceased, invented certain new and useful Improvements in Oil-Well Packers; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description ofthe invention, such as will Aenable Others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates' to an oil well packer.

It is the usual practice to line wells with tubular casings of progressively decreasing diameters from the top to the bottom, each casing extending entirely to the top so that near the top of the well there are a number of casing tubes concentric one withmthe other, the inner tube or casing of smallest diameter being really the Only effective casing for the fiow of Oil from the oil sands .to the .top of the well. f y

It has also been common practice to Omit the casing from that portion of the well passing through solid `or dry foundations at the bottom of the well, but in such instances it becomes necessary to afterwards case off such portions should the foundation develop what is known as a cave. This casing-Off is done by means of a packer to which the new casing or liner is attached, the casing and packer being lowered into the well and the packer secured to the lower end of the originai casing so that the new casing is suspended therefrom to protect the caved portions of the hole. Heretofore such packers have been let into the well by means of small tubing to which the packer is secured by left hand threads on a letting-in tool so that when the packer is in place, a set of jaws or gripper is relased to permit the packerv to grip the casing and the letting-in tool unscrewed from the packer and pulled from the well.

It is the principal object of the present` invention to provide a packer which may be released from the letting-in tool by, a simple vertical movement of the tool, thereby saving considerable time and trouble in installation, and while I have referred to the packer as a cave or liner packer, I do not wish to be understood as limiting it to such use as it may be used where trip-wall, disc-wall or other packers using slip mechanism may be employed.

.The inventionfconsists incertain novel arrangements of parts and combinations of parts,` all of which will be specifically described hereinafter, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in-which- Fig. l is a perspective view of a liner or cave packer illustrating the invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical, longitudinal, sectional view through the same `showing the lettingin tool and the locking connection or disc for the packer.

Fig. 3 is an elevational view of the inven-` tion passing downwardly through the casing with .liner and cave catcher attached.

Figa is a similar view showing the slips or casing engaging jaws moving into eX` panding position on the slip carrier or setting reins preparatory to receiving the final expander or cone necessary to force the slips or jaws to the casing. i

Figo is a -like view showing the final eX- pander or cone and slips or cas-ing engaging jaws moving into setting position on cone or final expander. i

Fig. 6 is a like view showing the slips or casing engaging jaws set in casing and disc in letting-in tool being broken to releasethe letting-1n tool.

Fig. 7 is a View showing packer set and liner supported by packer and the letting-intool released from the packer showing broken disc parts coming` out of well with lettingin tool.

Fig. S isa sectional view on the line 8 8 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 9 is a similar view on the line 9 9 of Fig. 3, and

Fig. 10 is an enlarged sectional view through the letting-in tool and the `upper end of the expander or cone to illustrate the method of collapsing the locking disc or connection between them.

fReferring now to the drawings by `numerals of reference: l j l designates the initial casing in the oil well 2 surrounded by the stratified earth and rock as illustrated, the strata designated 3 representing the cap rock located above the oil sands. The reference numeral designates the liner or smaller casing provided with the usual bottom shoe 5 at its lower end,

as will be well understood, and fastened to the packer body or tube 6 by a coupling or collar 7, which is threaded so as to screw onto the lower end` of the body or tube 6 and to the upper end of the liner 4, as best shown in Fig. 2.

Above the collar 7 is a stop collar 8 adapted to support a loosely mounted collar or ring 9, sleeved over the metallic packer body or tube 6 and having pluralityof upstanding jaw` expanding fingers 'lO guided in the grooves 11 in thecollarl or slip rein 12 having a plurality of yielding upstanding reins or fingers 13, which carry segnientalslipsfor jaws 14 arranged about vthe body or tube G to completevthe ring, the slips or jaws 14 having undercut teeth 15 to engage the inner surface of the easing 1. l

Carried by the ring or collar 12 are bowed springs 16, the portions 17 of which are adapted to frictionally engage the inner surface of the casing 1 to constitute lag-springs so as to normally hold the slips and rims or cage formed by the collar or ring 12, tho jaws14 and the yielding arms 13 adjacent to the cone-shaped head or expander 1S forming the upper ei'id of the body or tube G.

The cone oihead 13 is provided internally with an annulus orgroove 19, having radial inlet slots 20 and 21 to receive the bolted discende 22 and 23 of the disc or lock for fastening the letting-iii tool to the cone or head 18. The lettingin tool is shown as comprising a hollow member 24 adapted to be fastened to the toolA 'sub or other tool by a coupling 25.; The Aletting-in tool is provided with oppositely located openings or slots 26 and 27 through which project the disc ends or bolts 22 and 23 pivoted together at 23 and having, shoulders 27 and 28 against which abut the respective ends of the complementa-ry disc or bolt members 22 and 23, as shown in Fig. 8, so that when the edges 29 and 30A of the slots 2G'aud 27 exert pressure against the .disc or bolt ends, the disc or lock will be held in operative position to connect the letting-in tool to the cone or head 1S. The disc halves are held in place by fragile fasteningdevices 31 aiid'32, which may be easily sheared when'the bar or rod' 35 contacts on downward motion with the locking device or disc above the pivot 23 which may also be fragile enough'tobe broken when subjected to a severe blow, it being the purpose of the invention to provide means whereby the twoI halves of the disc 22 and 23 may become separated when subjected to a sharp downward blow from the letting-in tool cross bar 35,` as/shownin Fig. 10, and' will leave the parts in the position shown in Fig. 7, disconnected from the packer and hanging by wires to letting-in tool, the sub and stem, whereby the lettingin toolor other. support may be removed from the well.

After the parts are connected as shown:

in Fig. 1 with the liner securedt'the cave or liner packer, the packer and liner may be' lowered into the well through thecas'ing 1 the bowed portions 17v ofthe springs 16 frictionally engaging the inner surface of the casing to serve as lag springs to maintain'` the slips and reins or cagel consisting of the ring 12 and its appurtenances in the posi-` tion shown Fig. 1. lThe depth of' the casing 1 having been previously measured,

the packer and liner will be lowered the proper distance. rPlien there will be a slight upward vmovement imparted to the packer body or tube 6 and, course, tothe liner' Since the slip reins or cage Aliavingthe slips or jaws 14 will beheld stationary, the free ends 10 of thel wedge' fingers 10 will enter the flared portion 14 of vthe Vslips or j and spread them apart enough to cause them Yto overlap the ,cone'shoulder 18' vonthe cone or headl 18. Then the pacle'rbody or tube 6 will be lowered. permittingthe wedgeshaped cone or head 18 to further expand thevjaws to cause them tio vbind and impi'nge against the inner surface of the casingl 1 and thereby iset' the packer and' the liner with respect thereto, the bitingY of the case hardened teeth into the metal of the inner wall of the casing 1 being sufficient to forni a secure attachment.

lf at thetime the cone or lfinal expander or head 1S is lowered into the ring formed by theslips or aws 14, the letting-in tool is permitted to eivert a sharp downi'vard blow against the locking connection or disc consisting ofI the halves of the disc or bolts 22 and`23, the pivot 23 and the pins 31 and will be slieared or broken s'that the lock will be rendered ineffective, as shown in Figs. 6 and 10, and the lettingin tool vmay be drawn out, as shown in Fig. 7, leaving the liner or cave packer locked Awithin they casing with liner suspended therefrom. The disc halves'22 and 23 need not be lost, however, for they can be securedto the letting-in tool by theiiexible connections 33 and 39.'L

In order to stop cavings from fallinginto the oil sand, a frill'or cave catcher 40im`ay be supported by the shoe 5 on the liner 4 to constitute a baflie whereby dirt and rock dislodged above the saine maybe obstructed and prevented from falling into the oil sands as such particles tend to obstruct the .passage of the oil through. the casing and pumping equipment. c j i j.

It is to `be noted that the Afrill orcave catcher has an expanding diameter of lingers* scribed-,fthe lnecessity for running the!V liner up to the top V of the well will be eliminated and while the cost of theliner packer or-eonnection is considerable, it will be infinitely j less than the cost of the extra casing so that i there will be a `for linally considerable saving inlining` thexwell. 4, j .j ,v

lt is to observedtl'iatthe ringe9 is relatively loose on the packer body or tube 6 so that as soon as the arms 10 have moved the slips or jaws 14 outwardly and the body or tube 6 is dropped, the slip carrier or ring 9 of the setting reins will withdraw the arms or lingers 10 so that they will not bein the Way of the conical expanding head or cone 18, which drives the slips or jaws 14 home in their engagement with the inner face of the casing 1. It will, therefore, be apparent that the device can be readily set in position in an expeditious and convenient manner.

I claim: j'

1. In a device of the class described, a body, a casing engaging member loosely mounted on the body and having expanding Slips, means for partly separating the slips to expanding position, and means on the body for further expanding tihe slips into casing-engaging position so that the packer will be secured to the casing in which it is located by vertical motion of the casing controlled from the top of the well by connecting casing.

2. ln a device of the class described, a body, an. expanding casing-engaging member loosely mounted on the body, lag springs connected to `the casing-engaging member having free longitudinal movement on the body for partly expanding the casing-engaging member, and means on the body expanding the casing engaging .member by the weight ofthe body and tools connecting. y t

8. In a device of the class described, a body having a conical headv at one end, a ring loosely mounted on the body and `having upstanding arms, slips carried by the arms, another ring having movement independent of the first named ring, and ngers .on the second mentioned ring insertable between the slips and the body for moving the slips outwardly beyond the edge of the conical headwhereby the conical head may drop into the space confined by the slips to expand them against a surrounding casing by vertical movement of the body and tools connecting.

4. In a device of the class described, a body having a conical head at one end, means for securing a liner section to the other end, a ringloosely ,mounted` on the body, upst-anding yielding arms `carried by the ring, lag springs carried by the ring and having their iree ends bearing against the upstanding arms, the lag springs being bowed to ifrictionally engage the inner suriaceoi1 the wall of the well, a second slidable ring on the body, and upstanding lingers on the second ring insertable between the jaw members and the body to force them 4ontwardly to enlarge the openingsurround'ed by them so that the conical head vmay be in-,4 troduced'between the jaw lmembers to expand them into casing-engaging position.v

5. 1n a device `of the class described, a body having any expander at one end and means for attachment to a liner at the other, a ring having guides loosely mounted on the body, jaws yieldingiy connected to said ring, lag springs carried by the ring, a second ring having iree independent movement with respect to the body, and jawexpanding iingers carried by the second mentioned ring and projecting through the guides in the lirst named ring, said lingers being insertable between the jawv members and the body to move them outwardly so that the expander may be received by the jaws to permit it to expand the jaws into casing-engaging position.

6. 1n a device of the class described, a body, a circular jaw member carried by the body having outwardly movable jaws, a

'head on the body for expanding the jawk member, means for holding the jaw member rigid while the body moves, a letting-in tool, and a releasable connection between the letting-in tool and the body by vertical movement oi the letting-in tool and tools connecting. j

7. In a device of the class described, a' body having a cone-shaped upper portion provided with a groove, a circular jaw member carried by the body having outwardly movable jaws, a head on the body for expanding the jaw member, means for holding the jaw member rigid while the body moves, a letting-in tool, and a releasable connection between the letting-in tool and the body, said releasable connection comprising aligning disc members and disruptible means for connecting them together,

the ends of the aligning members being inthe body having outwardly movable jaws,

a head on the body for expanding the jaw member, means Jfor holding` thefjawmember rigid While the body moves, a letting-lin tool, and a releasable connection between the letting-in tool and; the body, said connectio'n Comprising two pivoted members having offset shoulders for engaging ends its ends received i the groove in' the Cone of 'the body.v y y y 9. The combination with a' packer Coni'- prising a body having a cone-shaped' upper end provided with a groove, and a'lett'ing-- in tool, of means for temporarily securing the letting-'in tool tothe'body'portionof the packer, said means comprising twobais fas'- tened together 'by disruptible 'fastening means and extending through' elongated slots in the letting-in tool and2 into the' grooveV in the Cone-shaped portion: ofthe body portion' of the packer.

10. The combination 'Wi th aA packer and a letting-in tool, of means for temporarily' securing the lettingin tool to the packer, said means comprising a disruptible eon' neoti'on between the letting-in tool andthe packer;

1l. The Combinationwith a packer and' a.

letting-'in tool', of means`r Jfor temporarily securing' the letting-in tool tol the packer', and-means for disrupting the securing means upon vertical movementVA of the letting-in tool independentI of the pa'okerl l2'.v The combination with ,zi packer and a letting-in-'tool7 of means" for normally sus` pending/the packer from the letting-in tool,

and means for perniitti-ingv independent downward movementJ of the letting-intool When thepacker is set soasto disrupt the packer suspending means to permit the lettingin tool to be Withdrawn vtherefrom.

ture.

EDi'Ti-r A.. RoBINsoN,

AfZmimshr/.W for Lawrence E. Robinson.,v

In testimony whereof I' affix my signa- 

